Chapter Summaries

Lumian confronted Suzanne Mathis after she appeared at the Golden Rooster Inn to reclaim Charlie, and he used Charlie and Fallen Mercury to stall her until official Beyonders arrived. Suzanne escaped into the wall, while a Sun Beyonder pinned down her vines and warned that she could reform unless they found where she was born.

• Charlie told Lumian that Suzanne Mathis had warned him in a dream not to seek help from the Church, and Lumian urged him to return to bed while suspecting the official Beyonders were using him as bait.
• Suzanne appeared in the inn corridor, covered the area with vines, and used her influence to make Charlie believe he loved her and should stay with her forever.
• Lumian provoked Suzanne, then pressed Fallen Mercury to Charlie’s throat and bluffed that its curse would kill Charlie’s wife, making Suzanne halt her attack.
• Suzanne manipulated Lumian into seeing Parish Priest Guillaume Béné, but Lumian recognized the deception and grabbed Charlie again before she disappeared into the wall.
• Lumian told Charlie to lie by the stairway and pretended to sleep in his room as red light filled the inn.
• A Sun Beyonder pinned Suzanne’s writhing vines with a golden longsword and said the threat would return unless they found where the evil spirit had been born.

Angoulême de François’s Purifiers failed to locate the object anchoring Suzanne Mathis and planned to keep searching while investigating the anonymous warning. Lumian sought advice from Hella and Madam Magician, learning that Suzanne was likely a powerful fallen dryad turned evil spirit and that the Mother Tree of Desire was behind her gift.

• Angoulême de François explained that Suzanne Mathis could reform unless the object anchoring her was destroyed, and his team continued searching Messy Street and its underground areas.
• A Purifier reported that Charlie Collent had survived Suzanne’s attack, and Angoulême assigned the team to find her birthplace and the letter’s author.
• Lumian waited until morning, then wrote to Madam Magician and Hella to report his encounter with Mr. K and ask about Suzanne’s nature and weaknesses.
• Hella told Lumian that creatures like Suzanne drained victims through erotic dreams and could kill their partners out of jealousy.
• Madam Magician identified Suzanne as a likely fallen dryad empowered by the Mother Tree of Desire, and said Suzanne had probably died and become an obsessive evil spirit.

After Madam Magician advised Lumian to seek Mr. K’s help against Suzanne Mathis, Lumian went with Charlie to pawn a diamond necklace and continued teasing him with a fake Cursed Blade story. Charlie learned the necklace was worth only 12 Felkine, leaving him stunned and dejected.

• Lumian burned Madam Magician’s letter, abandoned his plan to use Fallen Mercury against Suzanne Mathis, and decided to ask Mr. K for help.
• Charlie asked Lumian to accompany him to a pawnshop so he could turn the necklace into cash, and Lumian agreed because he was heading to the Observatory District.
• Charlie asked about Lumian’s Cursed Blade, and Lumian admitted he had made the story up to bluff Suzanne Mathis.
• Lumian frightened Charlie by asking whether his family was alive, then laughed and revealed he was pranking him.
• Charlie pawned the necklace at Phil Pawnshop, but learned it was fake and worth only 12 Felkine.

Lumian helped Charlie confirm that Mrs. Alice’s diamond necklace was fake, then took it to be appraised by a friend. He sought Mr. K’s protection from Suzanne Mathis’s strange creature and agreed to join a Market District gang and become its boss, receiving Mr. K’s severed finger as a safeguard.

• Lumian urged Charlie to retrieve the necklace and test it at other pawnshops, where appraisers also said it was fake.
• Lumian took the necklace from Charlie to have a friend appraise it without charge.
• Lumian learned from Aosta Trull how to contact Mr. K and went to the Spiritism magazine headquarters at 19 Schell Street.
• Lumian told Mr. K about the creature that had attacked him and asked for protection.
• Mr. K offered protection if Lumian joined a Market District gang and became its boss, and Lumian accepted.
• Mr. K tore off his left index finger and gave it to Lumian to use in a critical moment.

Lumian used Mr. K’s severed finger as protection, rented two safe houses, and disguised himself before approaching Baron Brignais. He secured 1,000 felkine for Charlie’s fake necklace by revealing that he had killed Margot, then told Charlie that only 50 felkine belonged to him and kept the rest as a labor fee.

• Mr. K gave Lumian a severed finger for emergencies, confirmed Charlie’s diamond necklace was fake, and agreed to help him obtain identity documents.
• Lumian rented rooms on White Coat Street and Stone Slab Street, then changed his appearance before visiting Baron Brignais at the Breeze Ballroom.
• Lumian offered Charlie’s fake necklace to Baron Brignais for 1,000 felkine, and stayed calm when an appraiser exposed the fake and the gang members drew their revolvers.
• Lumian told Baron Brignais he had killed Margot of the Stinger Gang, prompting the baron to dismiss the threat of his armed men and question him about the killing.
• Lumian told Charlie the necklace was worth 50 felkine and that he had sold it for 1,000, keeping the rest as his labor fee.

Lumian told Charlie that he had joined the Savoie Gang and that the Golden Rooster Inn was under its protection. He drove Wilson and the Stinger Gang out of Yisansi’s room, leaving Wilson badly injured and Yisansi uncertain about what the new protection would mean.

• Lumian gave Charlie 50 Felkine and revealed that Baron Brignais had agreed to pay 1,000 Felkine for a fake necklace, then confirmed that he had joined the Savoie Gang.
• Lumian heard Wilson and his men demanding protection money from Yisansi and went to Room 408.
• Lumian knocked out two guards, then fought Wilson and another thug, using the thug’s chair to strike Wilson before defeating them both.
• Lumian snapped Wilson’s arm and dropped him from Yisansi’s window, then demanded that the Stinger Gang recognize the inn as Savoie Gang territory.
• Lumian made the remaining thugs pay for the broken chair and left without explaining the new protection arrangement to Yisansi.

Lumian claimed the Golden Rooster Inn for the Savoie Gang after throwing Stinger Gang leader Wilson from its fourth floor. The Stinger Gang and Baron Brignais learned of the attack, setting the stage for a possible confrontation while Brignais chose to wait and see how events unfolded.

• Lumian told Charlie that he had thrown Wilson from the fourth floor and declared the Golden Rooster Inn Savoie Gang territory.
• At the Breeze Ballroom, Lumian told Louis what he had done, and Louis left to report it to Baron Brignais.
• Black Scorpion Roger questioned his enforcers about the attack and sent Harman to ask Baron Brignais whether the Savoie Gang wanted war.
• Baron Brignais decided not to inform the boss yet and saw the Stinger Gang's reaction as a chance to draw the authorities' attention to its backers.

Lumian took charge of the Golden Rooster Inn after the Savoie Gang settled its dispute with the Stinger Gang, and Yisansi seized the chance to leave Messy Street. His defiance of fate helped digest his Provocateur potion further, leaving him ready to consider obtaining the Mendicant Friar gift.

• Louis told Lumian that the Stinger Gang had yielded the Golden Rooster Inn to the Savoie Gang and that Lumian would manage it without further financial support.
• Charlie visited Lumian, learned the inn was now Savoie Gang territory, and went to tell Yisansi she could do as she pleased.
• Yisansi left the inn with 40 felkine, reached the carriage stop, and decided to return to pack before leaving Messy Street for good.
• Yisansi asked Lumian why he had helped her, and he said he could not stand fate's mockery.
• Lumian felt his Provocateur potion digest further and considered drawing on his sealed power to obtain the Mendicant Friar gift.

Lumian performed a ritual in an underground quarry cavern to obtain the Mendicant Friar gift and survived the corruption it unleashed. He gained an intuition for other people’s fortunes and knowledge of sacrificial rites and five ritual magics, while Anthony Reid’s lead about Louis Lund left him eager to pursue the next step.

• Lumian rested, gathered his ritual materials, and heard from Anthony Reid that someone might have seen Madame Pualis’s butler, Louis Lund, on Market Avenue.
• Lumian traveled into the underground tunnels and prepared a quarry cavern as a ritual site.
• Lumian invoked the Power of Fate and endured a violent surge of pain, ravings, and corruption until the ritual ended.
• Lumian discovered that his tolerance for extreme environments had improved and that he could sense other people’s general fortunes.
• Lumian gained knowledge of Animal Transformation, Prophecy, Fortune Transfer, Substitution, and Ghost Exorcism, and doubted whether Substitution could fool Suzanne Mathis.

Lumian assessed the ritual magic he had learned and considered how to prepare for Suzanne Mathis's next attack. A voice inside him revealed itself as Termiboros, who offered to resurrect Aurora if Lumian released the seal, leaving Lumian questioning the purpose of Aurora's descent ritual.

• Lumian realized Ghost Exorcism would require Suzanne Mathis's true name, a long-held possession, and time he might not have during an attack, so he considered finding one of her belongings.
• Lumian evaluated Animal Transformation, Fortune Transfer, Substitution, and Prophecy, and planned to use Prophecy to investigate Charlie's and Louis Lund's futures.
• As Lumian prepared to leave the underground quarry, a voice repeatedly called his name from inside his body.
• The voice identified itself as Termiboros, the Lord's angel, and its words about the Circle of Fate caused Lumian terror until gray fog calmed him.
• Termiboros offered to help resurrect Aurora Lee if Lumian released the seal, prompting Lumian to ask whether Aurora's descent ritual had been intended to give Termiboros a body.

Lumian rejected Termiboros's offer to help him escape, vowing to make him and everyone responsible for Cordou Village pay. After considering the risks of using the sealed angel, Lumian returned to the Golden Rooster Inn and learned Charlie had told the Underground Bar about his new position in the Savoie Gang.

• Lumian mocked Termiboros's offer and promised to become powerful enough to punish him, Guillaume Béné, and the Lord for Cordou Village's destruction.
• Termiboros warned Lumian that becoming an angel was extraordinarily difficult and that Lumian's death would free him from his predicament.
• Lumian realized that his rituals weakened Termiboros and decided to consult Madam Magician before trying to exploit the angel's eagerness to escape.
• Lumian found that provoking Termiboros had advanced his Provocateur potion digestion, then left the underground tunnels and returned to the Golden Rooster Inn.
• Charlie told Lumian that Miss Ethanisse had moved out and admitted he had announced Lumian's new role in the Savoie Gang at the Underground Bar.

Lumian warned Charlie to keep quiet about Suzanne Mathis, collected saliva from a stray dog, and learned that Fitz wanted help recovering money from the swindler Timmons. After accepting the job without promising success, Lumian noticed his spirituality had increased and set out to gather materials for Prophecy.

• Lumian warned Charlie not to mention Suzanne Mathis or Lumian's visit to the police station, then sensed that Charlie would soon encounter minor bad luck.
• Lumian pinned down a stray dog and collected its saliva, then asked Madame Fels about the absent inn owner, Mr. Eve.
• Fitz told Lumian that Timmons had swindled him out of 100,000 felkine and that Margot had failed to recover the money despite Timmons's profitable dance hall.
• Lumian agreed to investigate Fitz's claim but warned him not to expect much, then noticed his spirituality had recovered beyond its former level.
• Lumian reflected that ascetic practices could strengthen his intuition and Ritual Magic but rejected them, then left to find Savoie Gang members and gather Prophecy materials.

Lumian gathered information and unusual ingredients for making poison while learning more about the Savoie Gang and the Unique Dance Hall. He visited the dance hall and discovered that its visitors had to wear short suit jackets and monocles to enter.

• Lumian questioned Missiri at the Breeze Ballroom and learned that Baron Brignais led only part of the Savoie Gang, which had a hidden boss tied to the Savoie Chamber of Commerce.
• Lumian asked Louis to find lizard eyes, eagle-nest stones, and snake venom sacs, then questioned him about the Unique Dance Hall and the Stinger Gang.
• Lumian hired Aosta Trull to collect lynx innards, a hyena's tongue, stag bone marrow, and a deadly herb, and asked where water monsters could be found.
• Aosta led Lumian to the Unique Dance Hall, where Lumian saw four visitors put on monocles and learned that entrants had to wear monocles and short suit jackets.

Lumian investigated the Different from the Rest dance hall, learned that police commissioner Condei frequented it, and watched a puppet show at the rival Alone bar. On his way home, he spotted Wilson recovered from a fall that should have badly injured him and suspected the Stinger Gang had access to supernatural healing connected to Madame Pualis.

• Lumian asked Aosta about the dance hall's monocle and short-suit rule, warned him to be careful, and hired him to gather information about water monsters.
• Lumian decided against entering the dance hall and went to the rival Alone bar, where the bartender said customers waited in its cellar for a theatrical performance.
• The bartender told Lumian that police commissioner Condei had visited the dance hall, leading Lumian to abandon his plan to extort its owner, Timmons.
• Lumian paid to watch a silent puppet show in the cellar, then left and rode a Public Carriage toward the Honest Market District.
• Lumian saw Wilson, whom he had thrown from a fourth floor, walking normally with two thugs and suspected supernatural healing linked to Madame Pualis's power.

Lumian failed to track Wilson after learning he had recovered from severe injuries with unusual speed, then questioned Louis about the Stinger Gang and met singer Jenna at the Breeze Ballroom. The Savoie Gang had also obtained all three ingredients Lumian needed.

• Lumian searched the alley where Wilson and his companions had disappeared but found no useful traces, then decided to observe the Stinger Gang and plan a safer hunt.
• At the Breeze Ballroom, Lumian told Louis that Wilson had recovered after Lumian broke his arm and threw him from the fourth floor.
• Louis said the Stinger Gang's injured members had previously recovered within days and that the Baron suspected they had a Beyonder skilled at healing.
• Jenna arrived to perform, explained her beauty patch was placed at the corner of her eye to signify passion, and teased Lumian before going onstage.
• Louis warned Lumian that Jenna was close to Red Boots Franca and likely would not follow through on her flirtation.
• Louis told Lumian that the Savoie Gang had found all three requested ingredients, with Rat Christo supplying the lizard eyes, snake venom sacs, and eagle-nest stone.

Lumian considered exploiting tensions between Baron Brignais and Giant Simon, then questioned his landlord, Mr. Eve, about the inn and a former tenant connected to Suzanne Mathis. After secretly following Eve to his home and entering a nearby theater, Lumian spotted Eve in the background of a poster.

• Louis told Lumian that Giant Simon, a Savoie Gang member who resented Baron Brignais, had come to the Breeze Ballroom; Lumian considered how gang tensions might help him complete Mr. K's mission.
• Lumian met his landlord, Mr. Eve, and learned that Eve provided sulfur to combat bedbugs and had paid Margot weekly; Lumian asked him to spend that money on extra cleaning instead.
• When Lumian asked about the former tenant of Room 504, Eve denied knowing who he meant, but Lumian suspected his reaction was guilty.
• Lumian followed Eve to his apartment building on Market Avenue, then entered the Old Dovecage Theater across the street to inspect it as a place to lose a tail.
• Lumian recognized Eve among the extras depicted on a theater poster.

Lumian investigated the Old Pigeon Cage theater, then followed Mr. Eve and discovered that the landlord had supernatural abilities that stirred intense greed in him. The chapter left Lumian suspecting that Mr. Eve and the theater might be connected to Suzanne Mathis and the previous tenant of Room 504.

• Lumian watched a performance at the Old Pigeon Cage theater and saw that Mr. Eve had minor roles in three plays.
• Lumian waited outside Mr. Eve's apartment, saw him enter Underground Trier, and later confronted him as a robber when he returned.
• Mr. Eve gave Lumian a silver coin, and Lumian briefly succumbed to an overwhelming urge to keep it before regaining his senses.
• Mr. Eve fled into the Old Pigeon Cage theater, while Lumian escaped and tossed the coin to a vagrant.
• Lumian concluded that Mr. Eve had supernatural abilities and considered possible links to Suzanne Mathis, the theater, and Room 504's previous tenant.
• Charlie told Lumian that he had failed to get a proper waiter position, then froze and repeated that he was unlucky.

Lumian warned Charlie that his luck would remain ordinary, then prompted him to report what he knew about Mr. Eve and room 504 to the authorities. While planning to stake out the Stinger Gang’s “Hammer” Ait, Lumian noticed Mr. Eve’s luck had changed after a police-station visit and wondered what had happened.

• Lumian told Charlie his bad luck would not worsen soon and suggested he pray at a church of the Eternal Blazing Sun and report Mr. Eve’s connection to the former tenant of room 504.
• Charlie identified Stinger Gang leaders “Hammer” Ait, Harman, and “Black Scorpion” Roger, and Lumian chose Ait as a possible target to watch.
• Lumian found a wooden box from Louis containing a dark stone, blood-colored eyeballs, and a venom sac.
• Eve showed an associate a vagrant who had received his stolen silver coin, and they prepared for an unexpected incident or investigation.
• Charlie visited a church the next morning, while Lumian waited near the Old Dovecage Theater to see whether the authorities had acted.
• Lumian learned Mr. Eve had gone to the police station and sensed that his luck had changed from unlucky to normal, leaving him suspicious.

Lumian paid Aosta Trull for materials and information about water monsters, then followed him to an underground river to hunt one. After finding traces on the bank, Lumian killed a monster that ambushed him and left Aosta stunned by his brutality.

• Lumian decided not to visit Mr. Eve and went to meet Aosta Trull, who had gathered the requested materials and hurt his arm while investigating the underground river.
• Aosta described three rumored types of water monsters, and Lumian paid him for the information before heading to the river.
• Aosta followed Lumian, hoping to collect valuable parts from any monster they found, and Lumian agreed to let him come without offering protection.
• After searching the riverbank, Lumian found footprints and drag marks, then noticed a water monster clinging to the stalactites above him.
• The monster lunged at Lumian, but he dodged its attacks and repeatedly smashed it against the rocks until it died while Aosta watched in shock.

Lumian returned to the Underground World to prepare a Prophecy potion, but he followed suspicious footprints and found Jenna captured by a lustful man. After seeing the man’s strange influence over her, Lumian sneaked into the cave and pounced on him.

• Lumian defeated the water monster, collected its materials, and left Aosta Trull to gather what he could from the corpse.
• Lumian returned to the Underground World and spotted heavy footprints, then recognized Jenna’s perfume and decided to follow the trail.
• Lumian found a man with Jenna stuffed in a sack inside a cave and watched as the man woke her with a metal bottle.
• The man’s strange power stirred Jenna’s desires and weakened her resistance as he began undressing.
• Lumian approached through the shadows with his Ritual Silver Dagger and pounced on the man.